In a significant victory for environmentalists and citizen groups across the National Capital Region (NCR), the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) has decided to retain the “Natural Conservation Zone” (NCZ) classification in the proposed NCR Plan 2041.
According to the agenda for the Board’s June 16 meeting, the safeguards provided under the Regional Plan-2021 will continue, requiring strict adherence to all central and state laws, as well as judicial directives governing ecologically sensitive areas.
The decision brings to a close a prolonged campaign against a proposal in the draft NCR Plan 2041 that sought to replace the NCZ designation with the less stringent “Natural Zone” category. Environmentalists had argued that such a change would weaken legal protections available
to the Aravallis and other fragile ecosystems.
Calling the development “a huge relief”, environmentalist Neelam Ahluwalia, co-founder of the Aravalli Bachao Citizens Movement, said: “In all the objection letters sent by various stakeholders, it was suggested that the term NCZ used in the 2021 Regional Plan be retained and not replaced with ‘Natural Zones’, as areas categorised under the latter do not require the mandatory conservation that states are bound to enforce under the current 0.5% construction restriction.”
The campaign to preserve the NCZ status drew widespread public participation. In 2022, more than 12,000 students joined a mass outreach effort and submitted petitions to government authorities demanding stronger protection for the Aravalli range.
Among them was Mahi, then a Class IX student, who met Union Minister Hardeep Puri to voice concerns over the future of the hills.
“We had told the Minister that air pollution in the NCR would become worse if the Aravallis are destroyed,” Mahi recalled. “They act as the green lungs and the only barrier protecting millions from sandstorms. Without the Aravallis, life in the Delhi-NCR cannot exist.”
Environmental experts had also raised concerns over the draft proposal’s provision that protection would apply only to features specifically notified and recorded in revenue documents. They warned that such criteria could leave large stretches of forests, hills and water bodies outside the protective framework.
Dr Rajendra Singh, popularly known as the “Waterman of India”, said: “This was a very harsh restriction as it would have excluded a majority of the forests and Aravallis… as very few of them met both criteria of notification and presence in revenue records.”
Echoing similar concerns, Diwan Singh of the Ridge Bachao Andolan said dropping the word “Conservation” from the classification would have weakened protection efforts and created administrative confusion. “Mining has already wiped out 31 Aravalli hills — 25% of the range in Rajasthan — creating gaps for the Thar Desert to inch closer,” he warned. “All Aravalli hills and forests, wetlands, rivers, and water bodies, irrespective of whether they are notified, must get protection to enhance the air and water security of the region.”
